DARTMOUTH, N.H.—Dartmouth College is planning to expand and modernize its Hopkins Center for the Arts, known around campus as “the Hop.”

The Hop is located on the campus’s Green and serves as the gateway to the campus’s Arts District. New areas of the Hop will entail performance and practice spaces, digital and broadcasting capabilities, interactive teaching elements, and musical production space.

Architecture firm Snøhetta was tasked with respecting the original design by Wallace K. Harrison while simultaneously upgrading the building. Accordingly, Snøhetta’s design entailed extending the Hop’s reach such that the new elements blend in with the surrounding campus and the classic feel of this New England town. Snøhetta is applying what the firm calls a “combination of the rugged and refined” so the Hop honors both the manmade elements of the campus as well as the surrounding mountains. The architects are working so that the external plaza makes use of the building’s “gracious curves” so as to more naturally move people as they approach the structure. The plaza will also serve as an outdoor meeting space.

Inside, the new lobby, called the Forum, is meant to act as a communal space for people to gather before and after various performances. A stairwell in the Forum links it to the second-floor Recital Hall and Performance Lab. Snøhetta designed the Recital Hall to resemble a glass-enclosed lantern, and it offers external views of the nearby campus buildings thanks to its “curved mullion system” in place. Snøhetta is also renovating the Hop’s 900-seat theater, Spaulding Auditorium, as well as Top of the Hop, a rooftop space used by students and faculty alike.

Snøhetta is working with construction manager Consigli on the renovation, which is projected to commence later this year and be completed sometime in 2025.  The Hop will remain open as the renovations are underway.

Craig Dykers, a founding partner of Snøhetta, said that the audiences are as much a part of the creative process as artists themselves, and therefore it was crucial to join them together as one in the Hop’s performance spaces.

“We are excited to expand the Hop’s pioneering legacy as a venue for emerging forms of artistic collaboration and creative expression by bringing new rehearsal and production spaces to the building, ensuring continued support for a variety of perspectives and ways of making,” he said.

In a subsequent statement emailed to School Construction News, Snøhetta said that it was crucial to bring the Hop, a revered Dartmouth mainstay, into the 21st century.

“Gathering in-person to experience and learn about the Arts is fundamental to enjoying life and especially meaningful in the context of all the difficulties the world is facing right now,” their statement said. “The revitalized Hop will advance Dartmouth’s mission and enhance opportunities for artistic exploration and growth, inspiring students, faculty, staff, alumni, and visitors from around the world.”

The email continued: “Adding onto an existing building is always a challenge, given unknowns and deciding how to best allocate project resources, but the original design and spirit of the Hop are strong and provide a robust foundation for the Hop to continue to thrive.”

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Ithaca, N.Y.—Snøhetta, an architectural design firm based in Oslo, Norway, has brought its design expertise to a pair of new educational buildings on Cornell’s Tech Campus. The two buildings, which are connected physically, are meant to welcome visitors and students alike to the campus environment.

In addition to education, the Graduate Roosevelt Island Hotel and Verizon Executive Education Center will be utilized for academic conferences and programming. The pair of buildings will also have dining and overnight sleeping options for those who come to the island to stay in the short or long term.  Snøhetta designed the business conference center, encompassing 36,500 square feet, as well as the facade for the 18-story hotel.

The two buildings will share back-of-house services so as to reduce waste, and are situated along the “Tech Walk” that links these two buildings to open spaces on the rest of the campus. From the courtyards, people will be able to have views of the Manhattan skyline.

“From the beginning this was a unique experience because we got to design two buildings at once,” said Michael Cotton, Snøhetta’s director and senior architect. “Although each program and each client required a distinctive expression, the buildings ultimately work in partnership and are integrated within the larger Cornell Tech campus.

“As we worked through the design, we found that creating a unified base wrapping a shared courtyard offered the best way to bring together the two projects while also providing a functional podium supporting the individual use of each building. What results is a study in contrasts linked by public space: The hotel, tall and slender, uses the public realm to connect with the VEEC, which is low and soft by comparison.”

The two buildings represent the first phase of the 12.5-acre Cornell Tech campus redevelopment. The hotel was designed by architect of record Stonehill Taylor, with interiors by Graduate Hotels of Nashville. Snøhetta collaborated with Field Operations on designing the landscape.

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SAN FRANCISCO—The University of California San Francisco (UCSF)—a renowned health science university—has selected HGA and Snøhetta to design the new Research and Academic Building on its Parnassus Heights campus in San Francisco.

A San Francisco institution for more than a century, UCSF’s Parnassus Heights campus is renowned for innovation in research and education. The Parnassus Research and Academic Building, known for now as the PRAB, will anchor the west end of the campus and replace UC Hall, UCSF’s oldest building at Parnassus Heights, which was built as the University of California’s first hospital in 1917. This is one phase of a comprehensive planning process that is underway for a major renovation and expansion of the campus over the next decade.

The estimated $700 million project will include the building as well as improvements to Parnassus Avenue, extending Fourth Avenue, creating a new promenade and loading dock, the demolition of UC Hall, and the initial components of an “energy center” that will ensure UCSF can install new infrastructure when energy technology changes down the road.

Through a collaborative partnership, HGA will serve as the Executive Architect and Architect of Record, leading programming, planning and project management as well as the design of research lab and technical program spaces. Snøhetta will lead the overall conceptual design for the building and surrounding public realm, including landscape and site improvements.

HGA and Snøhetta submitted an innovative joint proposal, and UCSF— an institution known for teamwork between its scientists, clinicians and educators—particularly admired the collaborative nature of the proposal. A team led by Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS, selected HGA and Snøhetta from a final list.

“These cutting-edge firms were willing to join us in thinking outside of the box to face the unique opportunities that we see in this critical phase of the Parnassus plan,” said  Daniel Lowenstein, MD, UCSF’s executive vice chancellor and provost. “In particular, they bring new ways of fostering collaboration, an openness to our relationship to the local community and a robust and productive connectivity with the rest of the campus.”

Patti Mitchell, UCSF’s director of Campus Design and Construction for the west zone, and deputy campus architect, said the winning team had a particularly people-minded approach. “They had innovative ideas about how people would interact when they were in the building,” Mitchell said. “Their proposal was more human-centric versus others that were more building-focused.”

Both firms will work with a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary design-build team from UCSF in an integrated design and construction center to support collaboration, public engagement and the development of a holistic design. Mitchell said UCSF will work with HGA and Snøhetta to select a design builder, and that firm will serve as the general contractor, with the designers integrated under that contract, along with an array of trade partners.

“The HGA and Snøhetta team embody traits that are not just important for a successful design partnership, but also represent our aspirations for the PRAB project, including collaboration, creativity, innovation and excellence,” said Brian Newman, senior associate vice chancellor, UCSF Real Estate, and vice president, UCSF Health. “The two firms see the project site and its topographical challenges as opportunities to open up the interior of the campus and facilitate movement from the PRAB to other buildings.”

Breaking up the silos that once defined scientific research, UCSF creates spaces where a cell biologist might cross paths with an immunologist, leading to a collaboration that could create a new approach to treating a deadly disease. While the bulk of the PRAB will be for researchers, a portion will be designed specifically for educational uses. Graduate students will be able to work in labs and attend classes under one roof. To enable telepresence and build on recent advancements in virtual and hybrid learning, classrooms will be designed with accessibility and flexibility in mind.

“The HGA and Snøhetta teams were inspired by the culture of collaboration and dedication to teamwork for which UCSF is known,” said Chris Martin, science and technology market sector leader and principal at HGA. “We are excited to be a part of expanding the legacy of this premier institution by creating a forward-looking research and academic setting to advance human health outcomes and, hopefully, facilitate scientific breakthroughs, where new methods and technologies can lead to exceptional results.”

“We’re excited to work with UCSF, HGA, and local partners to bring the PRAB project to life,” said Alan Gordon, Partner and architect at Snøhetta.  “Our work is defined by collaboration, as we work with stakeholders to realize educational and cultural projects alike. UCSF has become a landmark institution in San Francisco, and we look forward to reimagining this site and the future of the Parnassus Heights campus.”

Michelle Delk, also a Snøhetta partner and landscape architect, added “Snøhetta’s approach centers on cultural exchange and the public realm.” Delk explains, “The PRAB project will not only serve clinicians and researchers at UCSF, but will include new vistas, promenades, and public gathering areas that will take advantage of San Francisco’s climate and natural context to bring added beauty to the site and campus.”

The PRAB is expected to open in 2026.

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LOS ANGELES AND NEW YORK, N.Y., April 13, 2020—Reflecting its innovative, multidisciplinary, approach to sustainable campuses, buildings and places, the integrated engineering consultancy Buro Happold has announced a number of major new sustainability-driven higher education projects underway at colleges and universities across the United States that address the climate emergency the world is currently facing.

Developed in collaboration with leading architecture firms – including Grimshaw Architects, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), Moore Ruble Yudell, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson (BCJ), KieranTimberlake, Behnisch Architekten, Snøhetta, Henning Larsen and others – Buro Happold’s new university projects range in scale from standalone academic buildings to larger educational complexes to entire multiphase campus master plans. Buro Happold also leads campus sustainability plans, a critical new specialty. The firm also brings decades of experience with environmental modeling, strategic mobility planning, engineered systems design, and pioneering use of structural materials and construction methods for iconic, highly sustainable campus buildings.

Engaged with a number of higher education clients, Buro Happold is helping to develop comprehensive sustainability plans, such as at the University of North Carolina, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of California, San Diego. The firm is also providing expertise on sustainability and wellbeing, outdoor thermal comfort, and pedestrian flow modeling for College of the Desert’s new Palm Springs campus.

As a result of the firm’s commitment to a net-zero carbon future and its focus on human wellbeing, Buro Happold has emerged as the leading provider of sustainability services for forward-looking colleges and universities throughout the country. The firm’s success in the higher education sector with a number of repeat clients is underscored by a multidisciplinary approach to planning and design coupled with demonstrated expertise managing complex project stakeholder relationships across all scales.

Notable recent university work includes:

Washington University in St. Louis.: Buro Happold has provided integrated engineering services that incorporate the principles of sustainable design with attention to energy efficiency, low-impact materials, reuse and recycling, quality and durability, and health and wellness for nine structures across this campus.

Among these notable works, Buro Happold provided extensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and egress modeling for the Olin Business School. Designed by Moore Ruble Yudell with Mackey Mitchell Architects, it is one of the first passively smoke-vented atriums in the United States. Most recently, Buro Happold’s scope of work on the 18-acre East End Campus included partnering again with Moore Ruble Yudell and Mackey Mitchell to design Jubel Hall as well as with architects KieranTimberlake on four structures including two glazed pavilions, Weil Hall, and an expansion of Kemper Art Museum.

Arizona State University, Phoenix: Buro Happold is providing integrated engineering services including structures and mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems along with energy modeling, lighting and daylighting design, and sustainability consulting for the 55,000-square-foot Thunderbird School of Global Management. Designed by Moore Ruble Yudell and Jones Studio, the building is in construction and expected to open in 2021, and represents just one of three projects at ASU involving Buro Happold’s full multidisciplinary services. Others include the Ennead-designed ASU Beus Center for Law & Society in downtown Phoenix, recently completed and pursuing LEED Gold, as well as Grimshaw’s new Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 7, which is scheduled to open in late 2021 and is pursuing LEED Gold.

University of California, Los Angeles: With 30 projects on University of California campuses and 16 at UCLA alone, Buro Happold has provided integrated expertise on a wide range of facilities on campus including general classrooms, professional schools, state-of- the-art labs, and housing. Most recently, the firm delivered MEP and fire-protection engineering, IT services, lighting design, daylight modeling and energy modeling for the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science’s new laboratory complex, housing the 60,000-square-foot Western Institute of Nanotechnology on Green Engineering and the 90,000-square-foot Computer Science department. Along with significant energy cost savings, Buro Happold also specified solar renewable and water-recycling technologies to dramatically minimize energy and water consumption for the LEED Gold- certified complex.

Cornell Tech, Roosevelt Island, N.Y.: Buro Happold provided feasibility studies, energy analysis and passive systems design as well as MEP and structural engineering and lighting design for The House at Cornell Tech, a 26-floor housing tower designed by Handel Architects, that is the world’s largest and tallest Passive House-certified residential building. The House is part of Cornell University’s larger urban island campus, which Buro Happold is also helping develop according to the university’s wider commitment to innovative sustainability. Buro Happold also recently partnered with international architecture firm Snøhetta to deliver the Verizon Executive Education Center – a conference center “suited for visionary thinkers” that blends high design and human-centered technology, expected to open this year.

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The new Athletic & Wellness Center will result in a fivefold increase in indoor space for the school’s wellness, athletic and performing arts programs. Upon completion, Newton Country Day School students will enjoy a new dance studio, four squash courts, a training room, changing rooms and bathroom facilities, a wellness lounge and classroom, a double-court gymnasium for basketball and volleyball, and a multipurpose fitness area. School staff and administrators will also be able to take advantage of new dance and athletic department offices and added storage space. These stakeholders — plus community members and other visitors — will benefit from various site developments such as improved parking and new circulation roadways.

The Athletic & Wellness Center was designed by D’Agostino Izzo Quirk of Somerville, Mass., and is being built by Erland Construction with offices in Burlington, Mass., and East Windsor, Conn. Compass Project Management of Medfield, Mass., is providing both pre-construction and construction-phase services as well as serving as the owner’s representative.

D’Agostino Izzo Quirk partnered with the school in 1997 to provide master planning services for all academic, arts and physical education facilities, and designed the school’s north addition in 2001. Erland Construction has also previously worked with the school and completed its award-winning library addition, also designed by D’Agostino Izzo Quirk, in 2007.

“We are pleased to be enhancing the beautiful campus at Newton Country Day with a facility that supports health, well-being and team spirit among the girls at this secondary school,” Erland Project Manager Elizabeth Martin said in a statement. “The wellness center will contribute to a well-rounded education for generations of NCDS students.”

Newton Country Day School is an independent Catholic school for girls in grades five through 12, and currently more than 85 percent of the student population participates in athletic programs, according to school literature. Construction crews broke ground on the center in December 2014, and the project is scheduled for completion in May 2016.

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